Equestrian Metal!
by kabal1337
Summary: Falsetto, a singer, and Knob Twiddler, a music producer, decide to start a metal band right in Ponyville. Witness a real Equestrian metal band as they take on scene kids, the Techno Twins, the Pony Music Rating Council, Crunk or Die, and even a rival metal band on their rise to fame! OC submission has been closed. Story is currently on hold for an undetermined amount of time.
1. Chapter 1

Copyright Stuff: As always, I don't own anything besides my OC's.

Author's Note: This is yet another submit your OC fic. I know, it's just that I really enjoy writing these kinds of stories. I guess I just enjoy being given other people's OC's and then developing them. However, if you've submitted an OC to any of my previous stories, then there's less of a chance that I'll accept it. I just want to get some characters from new users is all. This is a concept that I've had planned out for awhile, and I hope it turns out well. It's a mixture of my two favorite things: Ponies and metal. Also, I'm probably only going to accept around five OC's. Here's a little introduction to my OC's, info for submitting OC's will be included in the end.

"Alright, I think that's the last one."

Falsetto wiped the sweat from his brow as he put up the last flyer. His coat was grey while his dirty-blonde mane covered both of his eyes, although he could remarkably still see. The Pegasus stallion's cutie mark was that of a microphone with some musical notes, it represented his talent at singing.

"Do you think anypony's gonna be interested?" Falsetto's close friend, Knob Twiddler asked in his usual deadpan tone. The unicorn's purple coat matched his jet-black mane quite well, his cutie mark was a pro-tools music production set.

Falsetto smiled. "Of course it will, dude. This is Ponyville, the land of unrecognized talent." He replied optimistically. He leaned in to examine one of his flyers.

"Members needed for heavy metal band. Will accept anypony that's willing and of necessary talent. Anypony interested please come to the safehouse for evaluation."

Author's Note: Well, that's it. All you need to do is submit an OC and hope that he or she makes it in. And also if any of you Critics United dickheads report this story I will hate you more than I already do for a fucking eternity. Spots for the following instruments are needed:

Lead guitar

Rhythm guitar

Bass guitar

Drum kit

Keyboard/Synthesizer

Anyways, heres the form for submitting OC's. Just leave them in the review section or PM me.

Name:

Gender:

Race (Unicorn, pegasus, earth pony, Griffon):

Age:

Coat Color:

Mane color/style:

Cutie Mark:

Instrument:

Playing Style:

History:

Personality:

Any other info:

That's pretty much it. Have fun and be creative!


	2. Episode 1: Intros n' stuff

Copyright Stuff: As always, I don't own anything besides my OC's. All other OC's belong to their creators. Anything that is parodied or directly referenced is also not owned by me.

Author's Note: Here it is, the chapter that I'm sure you've all been waiting for. Here's the OC's that made the cut.

White Note (Lead Guitar)

Static Reverb (Rhythm Guitar)

Blueberry (Bass Guitar)

Grey Note (Drums)

Arc Flash (Synthesizer, Lights, Pyrotechnics)

Bitemarks (Keyboard)

First off, I'd like to congratulate everybody who's OC's made the cut. For those of you whose OC's didn't, it's not because I didn't like them, it's simply because I just thought these OC's would fit better. Trust me, if I could include every OC submitted to me, I would. But I already learned my lesson with Equestria Defense Squad and I am not putting myself through that again. Before I really start this, I should explain how this is gonna work. This is my first attempt at a story that's mostly focused on comedy (Actually, there was another one but it was deleted because the mods are douchbags), although there will be some romance and a few other elements. As far as the actual chapters go, I'm going for an episodic format with, with several recurring characters/antagonists outside of the band. In order to make things easier for me, I plan on dividing this into seasons (sort of like how TV shows do it). Each season will last around 10-15 chapters, and there will probably be around three seasons. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get this story started!

Falsetto sat down on a worn-out looking sofa alongside Knob Twiddler in The Safehouse's try-out room. The walls of the structure looked similar to that of aged wood, like on a dead tree. There were a few reasons for this, but it's mostly because The Safehouse is a small, fixed-up abandoned warehouse. The two stallion's had to spend quite a bit to hire a crew to fix up the place, but it was worth it to them.

Falsetto looked around, so far they had only gotten a few ponies to evaluate. In between the three strange fillies that were trying to earn their cutie marks or the mildly attractive pink mare with the party cannon, none of them were particularly satisfactory.

Knob leaned back in his seat. "So, the land of unrecognized talent, huh?" He deadpanned.

"C'mon, you know that good things come to those who wait. Besides, that one filly had a pretty good voice. What was her name? Sweetie-Something?" His friend replied in his usual optimism.

"It doesn't matter, she's not what we're looking for." The unicorn replied, taking out a playcolt magazine from under the couch cushions.

Abruptly, the *clop-clop* of hooves against the wooden floor could be heard getting louder as a Pegasus stallion with a white coat and a long black mane trotted in, a guitar was strapped to his back. His cutie mark was two acoustic guitars crossed to form an X.

Knob briefly lowered the magazine to examine the newcomer before bringing it back up. "Hey."

Falsetto smiled and trotted over to the unfamiliar stallion. "Hey dude, are you here to try-out for the band?"

The Pegasus nodded shyly, seemingly trying to avoid eye-contact.

"Alright, what's your name?"

He turned his head away and mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"W-White Note." He repeated softly.

"It's great to meet you, White Note. What are you trying out for?"

"I-I'm trying out for the position of lead guitarist. A-although I'll take rhythm too, I-I'm not picky." White Note replied, getting a bit more used to speaking with him.

Falsetto flashed a friendly smile and nodded. "That's great! Just get up onto the stage and show us what you're made of."

White gave a quick nod before trotting up onto the stage (which was really just a part of the floor that was elevated higher than the rest of the room). He shakily plugged his white Flying V electric guitar into an amp and made sure the tuning was correct. After deciding that everything was all set, he took a deep breath and put his muzzle to the stage's microphone.

"Uh, hi. Um, I'm gonna play a few cover songs for you, and I, uh, hope you like them. The first one that I'm gonna play is Enter Sandman by Metallicolt."

The guitarist somewhat nervously shifted his hooves to where they would be needed. The stallion used his guitar pick to lightly play the strings to generate an effect similar to that of the song's intro. Afterwords, he dived into the songs catchy, groovy main riff, headbanging slightly as he played.

Falsetto and Knob both looked at eachother and nodded. So far, he was doing a pretty great job. He seemed to be playing it exactly like in the song, not making any mistakes when it came to the riffs. His guitar had a chunky tone that complemented the song quite well. But the real kicker for them was the solo. He played that solo without difficulty, matching every note precisely. After the song was finished, White let out a breath and went back the microphone.

"The next song that I'm gonna play is called Sad Statue by Stallion of a Down."

Without any stalling, he swiftly zoomed into the songs frenetic starting riff, his hooves moving across the guitar's neck impressively. He was able to pull off the chorus riff without any problems, easily replicating the band's guitar work.

The two ponies watching the performance both nodded. He was good, real good. But then again, anypony can play a cover song. If White truly wanted to impress them, he would blow them away with something original.

White Note spoke into the microphone again. "That last thing that I have for you is an original instrumental piece that I made myself."

Taking another deep breath, the guitarist prepared himself before starting. He started playing a melodic riff that sounded like it could've come right from a Judas Pony song. Soon the riff evolved into a fast, thrashy lick that would make a band like Maregadeth proud. Although the solo's were impressive, the section that really wowed his audience was when the stallion dived into a complex djent riff, a strong display of technicality.

After his performance was over, White strapped on his guitar and trotted off the stage. "D-did you like it?" He asked nervously.

Falsetto and Knob both looked at eachother briefly. "No, we didn't." The singer replied, shaking his head.

A saddened expression manifested on White's face, he lowered his head to the ground. "Oh, well that's alright, I'm not that great." He was about to turn away before being stopped by a sudden foreleg being draped around him.

"We loved it!" Falsetto exclaimed, pulling him close.

White's cheeks heated up in embarrassment. "T-thank you, it really means a lot."

"It should. Why don't you stay with us and watch some of the try-outs?"

The guitarist nodded sheepishly before taking a seat next to Knob.

After a few more minutes of waiting, a new pony trotted in. It was an earth pony mare with a midnight blue coat, a long teal mane, and a cutie mark of a bass guitar with five blueberries. Falsetto raised an eyebrow in interest, she was quite an attractive mare.

"Hi." She greeted with a friendly smile. "My name's Blueberry and I'm trying out for the role of the band's bass player." She unstrapped her blue B.C Rich Widow 4-string bass and trotted up to the stage.

The mare held the guitar in her hooves and started laying down an energetic bassline, her hooves effortlessly plucking the strings to produce a funky groove. It was easy to tell that she was really into the music, she waved her hips and bobbed her head to the rhythm. Blueberry smoothly transitioned over to slapping the strings to make a loud, heavy sound that shook the whole room. Finally, she slid her hooves across the strings to produce a unique squeaking sound before stepping off the stage, a hopeful smile on her muzzle.

Falsetto clapped his hooves eagerly in response to the performance. "You're in!"

Blueberry's face switched to one of surprise. "Wait, really?"

The only producer in the room turned to face him. "Yeah, really?"

"Yeah, really! That was awesome, I don't think there's anypony better around here, and I mean that in the best way possible. Congrats, you're in the band."

A hint of red appeared at the mare's cheeks. "Um, wow, thank you." She responded, feeling surprised at being accepted into the band so easily.

"Here, come take a seat." The singer patted a spot next to him where Blueberry sat down.

A few minutes of patient waiting passed before two mares trotted into the try-out room. One of them was a Pegasus with a yellow coat and a spiky yellow mane with orange streaks, her cutie mark was the Reason logo and she was using a rope to wheel in a large set of electronic equipment. The other one was also a Pegasus, but with a grass green coat and a crimson mane with black streaks, her bangs covered both of her eyes and her cutie mark was a mascara stick crossed with a piano key.

The yellow mare was the first to speak. "Hey. I'm Ark Flash and this is my friend Bitemarks-"

"But you can all call me Starstruck." Bitemarks interrupted.

Arc flashed her friend an annoyed look before continuing. "Yeah, and we're trying out for the synthesizer and keyboard roles, respectively." She wheeled in her large Moog synthesizer set into the room. Compared to Arc's, Bitemarks' set appeared to be much simpler, consisting of a foldable keyboard with several buttons to modify it's sound.

After plugging in their equipment, the two mare's both started. Arc Flash pushed a slider to create a mellow ambient synth sound while Bitemarks kept her hooves above the keyboard in preparation. After a peaceful intro, the piece soon erupted into a cascade of electronic sound. Arc was laying down a heavy beat that caused the entire room to shake, she simultaneously twisted various knobs to add a wobbling effect in the background. Meanwhile, Bitemarks was skillfully moving her hooves across the keyboard to create an upbeat, almost poppy melody that added a catchy twist to the music.

After several minutes of impressive playing, the two mares both looked at eachother and nodded, it was time for the big drop! The symphony of electronic sounds briefly stopped before it exploded in a lethal bass drop that would make an earthquake seem tame in comparison. After the eruption of sound was over, the song faded out into a peaceful, ambient outro.

Everypony in the audience was speechless. Falsetto wasn't even a big fan of electronic music, and he was beyond impressed at the display. He sat up and started excitedly clapping his hooves. "That was awesome! I don't need to see anymore, you two are both in!"

"YES!" Arc hoof-pumped, but soon crossed her forelegs against her chest. "I mean, that's cool."

The keyboardist on the other hoof made no attempt to hide her excitement. "YES YES YES YES!" She hopped up and down in excitement.

After the two mare's had put away their equipment and sat down to relax performing such a demanding song, a pegasus stallion with a silver Les-Paul with a black tribal decal trotted in. His coat was a dark navy blue while his mane was in a silvery blue faux-hawk. His cutie mark was three guitar picks.

"Hello." Falsetto Greeted, eager to meet a new possible band member.

"Hey." He greeted dully, unstrapping his flashy guitar. He wore an uninterested expression on his face.

"So, are you here to try-out for the band?"

"No, I just brought my guitar here for the hell of it."

The singer couldn't help raising an eyebrow at his attitude. "Um, what's your name?"

"Static Reverb, but you can just call me Reverb. And yes, I'm here to try-out for the band. Rhythm guitarist, specifically."

Falsetto took a seat. "Alright, get onto the stage and show us what you can do."

"Oh, I will." He plugged in his guitar and started playing without hesitation. The stallion was Absolutely in the zone, easily shredding through thrashy riffs like a madpony. He put both of his hooves to where the strings started and ripped straight into a wild guitar solo, engulfing the entire room in sonic brutality. After that, he descended into some heavy hoof-muted chugging before unleashing another torrent of riffs. Static Reverb was rocking like there was no tomorrow, destroying every note like he could do it in his sleep. With one final frenetic guitar solo, the stallion was done. He calmly unplugged his instrument trotted off the stage, waiting for his feedback.

Falsetto started clapping, although not as enthusiastically as he did previously. "Impressive. Congrats... You're in the band." He said. Even though he wasn't too fond of Reverb's attitude, he was a great guitar player and that's what mattered to him.

Reverb took a seat. "Great, bein' in a band sounds like freakin' fun."

"Hey, what's up?" A unicorn stallion with a grey coat and a black mane that covered some of his face asked, trotting into the room. His cutie mark was drum stick crossed with a bass guitar. "I'm here to try out for the band, the name's Grey Note. My drum kit's outside, I couldn't bring the whole thing here by myself."

The entire group of ponies trotted outside. The environment outside The Safehouse resembled a barren, concrete wasteland. The most noticeable object was without a doubt the huge drum kit. Nearly every kind of drum you could imagine was attached to the massive kit.

Grey Note sat down at the kit and levitated a pair of drumsticks. After tapping them together a few times, he dove into a groovy tribal rhythm that had his audience bobbing their heads and tapping their hooves. Next, he descended into a frenetic series of pummeling blast beats that seemed to make the whole ground shake. Finally, he ended his performance in an impressive series of complex polyrhythms.

Wiping some sweat from his brow, Grey stepped off the drum kit. "So, what did you guys think?"

Instead of saying anything, Falsetto turned around and trotted towards The Safehouse's front entrance. He took down the sign that said they were looking for new band members.

Knob Twiddler spoke up. "Falsetto, what are you doing?"

"I'm taking down our sign. We've already got ourselves a band."

Author's Note: Yup, that's the first real chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. If your OC is in this story then PLEASE remember to leave reviews. Seriously, I'm writing an entire story with your characters, the least you could do is tell me how I'm doing. Also, if you have any ideas for band names then please put it in your review. And also be sure to favorite and alert, it should just be common courtesy at this point. Also, do we have any artists here? I would greatly appreciate a drawing to use as the cover for this story.

Next Chapter: Now that the band is together, there's only one thing to do now. Start writing some songs! Characters will be developed, friendships made, and much more!


	3. Episode 2: Songs, Conflicts, and Crushes

Copyright Stuff: As always, I don't own anything besides my OC's. All other OC's belong to their creators. I do not own any bands or other things directly mentioned or parodied.

Author's Note: Yeah, here's the next chapter. The purpose of this chapter is to really introduce the character's different personalities and develop them a bit. Also, Dream Theater and Silent Descent are fucking awesome bands, check'em out. Also, whenever somepony is singing it will be signaled by { } to make things easier for me. Anyways, here's the chapter.

Falsetto stepped up to the microphone stand and cleared his throat. He and the rest of his band-mates were in the rehearsal room and were stationed at their respective instruments, ready to rehearse. The idea behind this song was to make a simple, catchy track that could be released as a single. the singer looked over at Knob Twiddler, who was sitting with a pair of headphones at his recording station, he gave Falsetto an affirmative nod.

After receiving the OK from his friend, he turned around and gave the rest of the band a hooves-up to get started.

Arc Flash started things off with an ambient intro, twisting a knob to create a sound akin to that of a new age song. She pressed a few buttons to add some extra effects before she allowed it fade out.

After the intro was over, White Note and Static Reverb's guitars both exploded into a powerful mid-tempo riff while Blueberry laid down a chunky bassline. Bitemarks tapped her hoof and bobbed her head while she played an upbeat tune on her keyboard that complimented the other instruments.

Everypony except for Blueberry, Arc Flash and Grey Note stopped playing. It left only a chunky bassline, a powerful electronic beat, and a tribal drum beat to accompany Falsetto while he sang his verse. Taking a breath, the stallion stepped up to the microphone and unleashed his soaring clean vocals for the first verse.

{To the end, t'ill our worlds collide...

From the fire of Venus to the ice of Europa, I'll be by your side...

When the skies fall in flames, I won't be the one to hide...

As all hope ignites around us, I'll fly with you to our loving end...}

Falsetto briefly turned away from the mic after finishing the verse, taking a breather to prepare for the song's chorus. The band's two guitarists both played the same medium-speed riff from earlier while Bitemarks played her upbeat set of keys. The singer put his lips to the mic and began.

{When the world's time is over, I'll cry with you...

When the skies turn red, and all life fades, I won't be staring into the void without you...

This planetary oath, we'll take it to the end...}

After the chorus, it It was time to unleash the second verse. This time, White Note and Reverb would both be contributing with an aggressive chugging riff. For this verse, Falsetto switched to a deep, demonic death metal growl.

{When the storms of Jupiter release, and the air is scorched, I'll die in your arms...

As all life is extinguished, as the oceans turn to steam, I'll watch it all burn...

I'll laugh as all hatred is unleashed upon us, when the world collapses under our hooves...

The planetary oath that we made, it'll be the death of us...}

After the second verse was completed, he repeated the chorus again just as it was done before. Now, it was time for the song's bridge section. Bitemarks and Reverb started playing solos on their instruments, while White played a heavy breakdown and Grey descended into a tribal rhythm on his drums. To top off this cascade of sound, Arc unleashed a dirty drop, using a combination of low wobbling and high-pitched sounds from her Korg Kaoss Pad.

Eventually, the bridge faded out before the song exploded into the last repetition of the chorus. Falsetto repeated the chorus twice with rejuvenated energy. Soon, the song faded out into an ambient outro before finally being finished.

Knob Twiddler took off his headphones and pressed a button on his recording station. He sat up and nodded at the group of musicians.

"Great job everypony!" Falsetto clapped his hooves enthusiastically. "I think we've got something really great on our hooves!"

"Hell yeah we do!" Grey Note jumped off of his drum kit.

"Whoo!" Bitemarks cheered, excitedly tapping her hooves.

"I-I thought it was nice too." White Note commented sheepishly.

Reverb on the other hoof, didn't look impressed. "Personally, I'm not satisfied. Falsetto, your singing should've been a higher key, and your growls should've been deeper. Bitemarks, your playing was too upbeat for the mood. White, that breakdown wasn't slow enough. Blueberry, your bassline should've been faster. Arc Flash, that drop was too heavy for the sake of the song."

The singer was taken back by Reverb's lack of enthusiasm compared to his bandmates. "Well, Uh, I guess we can discuss those changes later..." He trotted towards Knob Twiddler. "What did you think?"

The producer looked up at him with his usual emotionless expression. "For a demo, it's not bad. Give me some time and I'll make it sound good enough for release."

...

"Okay, what do you guys think of this one?" White Note asked. The white-coated stallion was sitting in a recording booth with Reverb and Arc Flash. He proceeded to play a jagged riff on his instrument.

Arc smiled. "That was great! We should totally put that in our next song."

"If by great you mean so simplistic a retarded mule could play it then yeah it's pretty fuckin' great."

A hurt expression manifested on White's face, he turned away. "Y-you don't have to be so mean about it..." He mumbled.

The only mare in the room decided to speak up. "Reverb, that's not cool! If you're gonna criticize him, then don't be a dickhead about it." She turned towards White. "Don't listen to him, honey. That was a cool riff, Reverb's just being an ass."

"An ass? You're the one doing him a disservice by making him think he's better than he really is. Hm, I wonder if it's possible to unlearn how to play an instrument..."

"You know what? Ever since we've been in this band you've done nothing but bitch and criticize everyone!"

"Criticism is exactly what you guys need! I swear, it's like I'm the only one that cares about this band."

"Shut the hell up! If you weren't putting everypony down, we might get shit done!"

While the two ponies were arguing, the lead guitarist shrunk into a corner. "C-c'mon guy's, t-this isn't nice..."

Grey Note trotted by and took notice of the conflict. Letting out a sigh, he walked over to the two. "C'mon guys, break it up." He pushed them away from eachother with his unicorn magic.

"I'll stop when HE admits that he's being an asshole!" The synthesist yelled, her face red in anger.

"I'll stop when YOU admit that I'm the only one taking this band seriously!"

Grey rolled his eyes. "You're both being ridiculous. Now why don't you two just kiss and make up?" He pushed the two uncomfortably close.

"Bleh! I wouldn't kiss him if he were the last stallion on earth." Arc said in disgust.

"Oh please, I'm sure you'd be doing a lot more than just kissing-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

The drummer let out a frustrated sigh. "Ah, screw it. You two are hopeless." He threw the two ponies away from eachother and trotted away.

Reverb got up and brushed himself off. "I have better things to do." He flared out his wings and fluttered away.

White Note emerged from his corner timidly. "Arc, thanks for standing up for me, nopony's ever really done that for me before." He thanked, a blush appearing at his cheeks.

The mare smiled sincerely. "It's no problem, really. I just can't stand seeing ponies act like that, you know?"

"Yeah, I know the feeling..." He gazed into Arc's eyes. 'She's so beautiful...' The stallion thought dreamily. In the week or so that he'd been in the band, even though he wouldn't admit it, he managed to develop quite a crush on the band's synth player.

"Yeah, anyways, I'm gonna hang out in the lounge. You wanna come along?"

"Uh, no that's alright. I need to keep practicing and stuff."

"Okay. I'll see you around, White." Arc responded, turning around and heading off.

The guitarist looked down at his instrument and sighed.

...

In the week or so that the band had been formed, bonds were formed between different members. The three ladies of the group were the first to become fast friends with eachother.

"Hey guys." Arc Flash trotted into the Safehouse's lounge room. It was the band's place for relaxing after a long day of rehearsals or if they just felt tired. On the large sofa in the middle were the two other female musicians. Bitemarks was looking into a small mirror and applying some makeup while Blueberry was lazily resting against the sofa's arm rest with her bass. Blaring out of the room's speakers was DJ PON3's new album.

The keyboardist smiled and looked away from her mirror. "Hey Arcy."

The band's synth player let out a breath as she flopped onto the couch. "Hey girls."

Blueberry snapped out of her rest. "Hm? Oh hey, Arc. Somethin' bothering you? You look flustered."

"It's nothing, Reverb was just being a dick. I swear, it's like that guy bathes in a tub of liquid douche everyday."

"I'm sure he means well, I just don't think he quite knows the best to convey his criticism yet." Bitemarks responded, applying some lipstick.

"Maybe. You know, I don't wanna think about him right now, I just wanna relax." Arc rested her head against the sofa.

"So, been checking out any stallions lately?" The band's keyboardist asked with a sly smile.

"Really, Bitemarks?"

"Yes, Really. And it's Starstruck now."

"Whatever. And no, I have not been 'checking out' any stallions lately. I'm just not interested in a relationship at the moment."

"You don't have to be interested in a relationship to be checking out stallions. Or mares, I won't judge."

Arc raised an eyebrow. "Bitema-"

"Starstruck."

She rolled her eyes. "Starstruck, I don't feel like discussing this right now."

"Fine, be like that." Starstruck got up, trotted over to the band's fridge and took out a few beers. "Here, ya' look like you could use one." She tossed a bottle over to her friend. She tried to toss one over to Blueberry, but she was being inattentive and was hit in the forehead by it.

"Ow! What's the big idea- Oooh beer!" She uncapped the beverage in her hooves and happily guzzled it down.

"Thanks." Arc took a sip from the alcoholic liquid. "You know, I'm thinking about taking a break from DJ'ing for a bit."

A surprised look swept onto Starstruck's muzzle. "Really, I though you loved being a DJ? Isn't that what got you into making music?"

The synthesist took a long drink. "I didn't say I was quitting, I just wanna focus on the band for a little while. And yeah DJ PON3 did get me into music. She still inspires me, really. I'll play a few more shows and think about it."

"Good." The keyboardist gulped down the rest of her drink. "I could never do any of that stuff, all those buttons and knobs look so confusing."

While the mares were busy conversing, Reverb trotted into the lounge and leaned his guitar against a wall.

"Hey, it's everypony's favorite douchebag." Arc whispered into her friend's ear.

"I heard that." The stallion said, taking a seat near Blueberry. "Could somepony please shut that crap off?" He asked, gesturing towards the radio.

In less than a second, Arc's muzzle was already up in Reverb's face. "Hey, this 'crap' is what got me into music! So if you don't like it, you can just turn your scrawny flanks around and leave!

The guitarist's eyes widened. "SCRAWNY!- I mean, It's not real music! it's the sound of electronic appliances getting thrown into a blender!"

"News flash, there's no such thing as 'real music'! MUSIC IS SOUNDS! Anything can be music!"

"Uh-Oh..." Starstruck hid herself behind the couch, knowing very well that something ugly was about to take place. On the opposite end, Blueberry was blissfully unaware of the conflict while she stared at the ceiling, making movements like she was playing her bass.

Reverb let out a dismissive breath. "Yeah, right. That's just an excuse shitty musicians like yourself use to keep making crap!"

"Oh, you did NOT just call me a shitty musician, you douchenozzle!"

"And you did NOT just call me a douchnozzle, you shitty musician!"

While the two were verbally going at it, Falsetto trotted into the room and immediately took notice of the conflict. "Hey, C'mon guys, let's try and cool down here..."

"You know what? I'm done arguing with you! You can take your criticism and shove it up your ass!" Arc Flash turned around and stormed out of the room.

"Fine!" Reverb stormed out through the opposite exit.

...

Knob Twiddler hummed a dull tune as he trotted down The Safehouse's halls. A purple aura enveloped a small box that he was levitating. The stallion walked until he found Grey Note and Blueberry walking together.

"Hey, you two." He called out, stopping in place.

"Yeah?" The drummer approached him alongside Blueberry.

"I made some demo CD's and I need somepony to go out and sell them."

The band's bassist spoke up. "We're already selling our music?" She asked, examining a CD that she took out of the box. The disc had a simple design with the band's 13 logo. The band's name, 13th Hour, was decided upon last week after much brainstorming by the whole group.

"Falsetto says it's best that we introduce ponies to our music as soon as possible." He replied uninterestedly. In addition to being 13th Hour's producer, he also functioned as somewhat of a manager alongside the singer. The unicorn grabbed some bits from his saddlebag and handed them to the drummer. "Here, rent a stand and see if you can't sell a few of these."

"Aaaalright." Grey took hold of the box while the producer trotted away. "Wanna sell some CD's with me?" He turned to face the bassist.

She shrugged. "Sure."

...

"Hey, Falsetto?" Starstruck trotted into the singer's office. It was a small room with a computer and a spinning chair that was currently occupied by the stallion.

"Yes?" He spun to face the keyboardist.

"I was just wondering what you're up to, if you don't mind me asking."

Falsetto smiled. "I don't mind at all. I'm just writing down some lyrics and stuff, ideas for songs and all that."

"Any solid ideas so far?"

"A few, nothing concrete though." He replied, shifting around a few papers on his lap. While sorting, his eyes fell upon the mare next to him. He'd always though of her as being pretty, but never took notice of quite how attractive she was until now.

"Hey, I'm over here." Starstruck smiled bashfully, having taken notice of the singer spying her flanks.

Falsetto blushed furiously. "I-I'm so sorry, I hope you don't think I'm a pervert or anything, because I'm not!"

"Hey, it's alright, just don't let me catch you again." She winked at him.

...

Grey Note, Blueberry, and Reverb all stood outside behind their stand. The four ponies were selling their CD's in Ponyville's ever-busy streets. So far, they weren't doing as bad as they expected. At the low price of just two bits per CD, it was a good deal for most ponies who were interested in the music.

Static Reverb suddenly lowered his head slightly below the stand when he saw somepony approaching. It was a cyan pegasus mare with a unique rainbow mane. "Hey Reverb, what's up?" She asked, a friendly smile on her face.

A hint of red appeared at the guitarist's face. "Oh, hey Rainbow. I'm just selling some CD's, that's all."

Blueberry and Grey Note both looked at eachother. By far that one sentence was the most polite thing they've heard come out of his mouth. And was that seriously a blush on his face?

"Oh, is it for that new band that you're in?" Rainbow Dash asked, examining one of the CD's in her hooves.

"Yeah, 13th Hour, that's the one."

"Cool. What's on the CD?"

"Two original songs and two cover song. They're just demos, but they still sound pretty good. We covered Angel of Death by Pony Slayer and Sad but True by Metallicolt."

"Awesome! How much?"

"Just three bits."

"Great." The mare grabbed some bits from her saddlebags and payed for the demo before zooming away, leaving her trademark rainbow trail behind her. The rhythm guitarist let out a dreamy sigh.

Grey smiled. "Looks like somepony's got the hot's for Rainbow."

Reverb's ears perked up. "Don't be absurd, I'm dedicated to the band, I don't have the time for a mare."

"Whatever you say, bro." Blueberry commented, pulling up a chair and taking a seat.

As the time passed while the three ponies sold CD, Grey Note's eyes tore themselves away from crowd of increasingly interested ponies, and instead focused on the blue mare standing next to him. He had to admit, she was certainly a cute one. The stallion looked back at the line of ponies and smiled, it was steadily increasing. 'Yeah... I think I could get used to this'.

Next Chapter: 13th Hour play their first show ever! But can the band help White Note through his stage fright? Will a group of scene kids foil their chance at a successful concert? Will Limp Bizkit EVER release another good album? Find out in the next episode! (Except for that last part, which I would guess the answer to is no)

Important Note: Do we have any artists here? If so, I would greatly appreciate a drawing or something like that to use as a cover for this story.

Author's Note: Just so you guys know, I wrote the lyrics to that song myself. So if the lyrics suck, it's because I wrote them. I didn't really have a concrete plan or storyline when I wrote this, I just kinda made it up as I went along. But that won't happen again, because I've found a good structure to use for these episodes. The purpose of this chapter was to expand on characters personalities, show obvious love-interests, establish a few character relationships, etc. Even though I feel like nothing really happened in this chapter, I think I succeeded in my goals. Also, I managed to finish this chapter while listening to some KoRn! Yeah, nothing quite like finishing a chapter while listening to one of your favorite bands. Anyways, be sure to leave a review if your character is in it, or even if you're just reading it because you like it. Before I leave, I would like to thank for the band's name. Also, if you're wondering why Reverb's personality is so different from his review, I sent him a PM for permission to modify his personality. Well, that's it for now, I hope you all enjoyed. As I've mention before please leave a review, and don't be afraid to post or send suggestions for future chapters.


	4. Episode 3: Courage

Copyright Stuff: As always, I don't own anything besides my OC's. All other OC's belong to their creators.

Author's Note: First of all, I would like to give an apology for how long it took to get this chapter out. I will try to be more consistent in the future. Anyways, I hope this chapter was worth the wait for you all. If you have any ideas for future chapter's, don't be afraid to PM me. Without any further introduction, let's get this party started.

It was just another normal day at the Safehouse for 13th. The band's demo was still circulating throughout Ponyville's streets, although they were certainly still an underground band.

"Gotcha!" Grey Note smiled, levitating a Hoofbox 360 controller with his magic. He, Reverb, Arc Flash and Knob Twiddler. The four ponies were all huddled around the television set,, playing Hoof of Duty: Modern Warpony 3.

"You were camping!" Reverb accused, also holding a controller in his hooves.

"Shut up and take your loss, noob." Arc said, eyes locked onto the T.V.

"You're using dual FMG9's, those are like the noobiest things ever." The rhythm guitarist retorted.

Falsetto trotted into the band's lounge room with a smile. "Hey guy's, guess what?"

"What?"

"I think we might just have our first gig, dudes. Wanna come on over an check it out?"

The bandmates paused their game and curiously headed over to the singer's office. The rest of the band's members were present as well, including a nervous looking White Note, who looked like he was trying to blend into the small room's off-white walls. Falsetto sat down at his computer desk. "There's this new venue that popped up recently, the manager must've gotten ahold of our demo. I just got an email from him asking us to play at his stage."

"S-so we're playing at a stage? Like in front of other ponies?" The band's lead guitarist asked nervously.

"No, we're playing at a stage with absolutely no ponies whatsoever." Starstruck quipped sarcastically.

"We're not playing in some kid's garage or anything, right?" Reverb asked, folding his forelegs in front of his chest.

"The guy who runs this place promised me a proper stage. Nothing very big, but not too small."

"Personally, I couldn't less about where we're playing as long it's somewhere." Grey Note chimed in.

*Ding*

"Hm?" Falsetto focused on his computer. "Hold on, I got another email from the guy." The stallion put on his reading glasses. "I guess we're sharing the stage with another band."

"Oooh, which one?" Blueberry asked softly, poking her head in front of the computer monitor. "Woe is Misery? They sure don't sound too optimistic."

"Wait, what?" The rhythm guitarist abruptly shoved Blueberry out of the way to look at the screen. "Oh nonono! There's no way I'm sharing a stage with those assholes!"

"How do you know they're assholes?" Arc Flash asked, raising an eyebrow.

Reverb let out an annoyed sigh. "I've had the extreme displeasure of listening to their 'music' in the past. They're a shitty emo band from Trottingham, I nearly had to fill in for their guitar player once."

"What do they sound like?" Falsetto asked.

"They're about as simplistic as you can get, their guitar tabs look like morse code, lots of ones and zeros. And their singer singer sounds like a goddamned dying cat. On helium. Falling from a building. And just look at them! They're scene as fuck!"

"Oh come on, they can't be that bad." Quipped the band's bassist in a display of optimism.

"Well, alright." Falsetto tapped his hooves on the keyboard and logged onto YouTube. "Lemme see, this one's called last scream."

(4 minutes of listening later)

"AAAAAAAH! MY EARS!" Reverb was on the floor crying out in pain. "IT'S SO MEDIOCRE!"

"Alright, fine, you win. They really do suck." Arc Flash admitted, agreeing with Reverb for possibly the first time.

Even White Note had to express his distaste. "I don't like it either. I'm not gonna say it's terrible, but I really don't like it."

"Why is the guitarist only playing like two cords?" Blueberry asked.

"Okay, I think that's enough of that." Falsetto hit the pause button. "So... They suck really bad-"

"That's putting it mildly." The rhythm guitarist interrupted, getting up and brushing himself off.

"But..." The singer continued. "We're still being offered a chance to play a show at a decently popular place. If that's not a golden opportunity for a band like ours, then I don't know what is."

"Yeah, and it would be extremely prissy to decline just because a band that we don't like is playing too."

The band's bassist spoke up. "That's true, and besides, it's still our first show, we should be excited about this."

"Yeah, if anything we should be getting pumped! We can show some scene kids what music is supposed to sound like." Grey Note commented with a smile.

The whole band laughed at the drummer's comment. "Alright guys, I think we should definitely start practicing for the show, it's happening in just a week. Apparently adding us to the concert was a last-minute thing."

(A week later)

"Those seven days sure did fly by fast." Grey Note said, stepping off the band's carriage (owned by Knob Twiddler) along with the rest of his bandmates. The area outside the stage was moderately populated, quite a few ponies were waiting outside for the show to state.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Falsetto looked around and observed his surroundings.

"Not the worst, but I've seen better." Reverb commented.

"Come on guys, this is exciting! We're playing our very first concert ever!" Starstruck chirped enthusiastically. She and Arc Flash's equipment was being brought in by the stage's pegasi.

"Yeah, this is badass!" Arc Flash agreed. "Don't you think so, White?"

The band's lead guitarist was practically shaking in hooves, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Y-yeah, I-It's pretty great." He stammered, giving a fake smile.

The synthesist raised an eyebrow. "Hey, are you nervous?"

"What? N-no, of course not! W-what would make you t-think I was nervous? I-I'm totally not nervous!"

"White, it's perfectly fine to be nervous-"

"Hey, look at those posers!" The whole band heard a voice say from nearby. The musicians turned to see a stallion that appeared to be in his teenage years. His coat was black, as were his eyes. His grey mane, cut in a style that covered one of his eyes, was drowned out by a barrage of brightly colored highlights.

Grey Note spoke up. "What did you just call us, kid?" He asked in a calm tone, since he really couldn't care less about what some kid called him.

"I called you posers! I bet you losers can't even play a breakdown!" The stallion accused.

"Yeah, you guys earn't brutal like us!" A mare that seemed to be around the same age joined him. Her coat was pink while her short mane was the same explosion of color as her friend.

Reverb stepped in. "Any dumbass that can strum a note can play a simple breakdown!"

"Hmph! It's not about the skill, it's about the passion! You're just jealous that you're not as unique as us!"

A dumbfounded expression found it's way onto the rhythm guitarist's face. "Are you kidding me? You scene kids all claim to be unique, but you all dress the same! You guys look like a rainbow ejaculated on you!"

The scene stallion spoke up. "Yeah right, keep on drinking that haterade! Haters make us famous!"

"NO! No they don't! Hater's don't make you famous! They make you infamous for Celestia's sake!"

"Hey, screw off! Quit harassing the bands!" Another stallion trotted over, appearing to be older. His red coat matched well with his short white mane. The two scenesters growled before trotting over to the stage. The unknown pony walked up to the members of 13th Hour. "Sorry about that, those two can be a real pain in the flanks sometimes." He held out a hoof in greeting, which Falsetto promptly shook. "The name's Mitch, I'm the venue's manager."

"It's great to finally meet you, Mitch." The singer smiled, shaking his hoof.

"I'm sorry for asking you to play on such short notice, when I heard your demo I just had to have you guys play here. Speaking of which, the show starts in 20 minutes, you guys should probably get going. No hurry though, if you need some time to get ready I can have that arranged."

Falsetto smiled. "That's okay, we're all ready."

"Great, just head up to the stage and get your stuff ready, the pegasi already set up your guitars and stuff."

"Thanks." The two stallions bro-hoofed before going their separate ways. 13th Hour trotted behind the outdoor stage to mentally prepare for what was to come.

"White Note, are you okay?" Arc Flash trotted over to the white stallion with a concerned look on her muzzle.

The poor guitarist was practically shaking in hooves, sweating profusely. "I-I don't feel right."

"Honey, what's wrong?" She put a hoof on his shoulder.

White Note lowered his head in shame. "I... I can't do it."

"Are you serious? White, you can't just bail out on us now!"

"I-I know, it's just... I've been in front of this many ponies before, they're all gonna be looking at me, critiquing me..."

"Honey, noponies gonna critique you or any of us. We're just playing for fun, okay?"

"A-alright."

"So are you gonna play?"

He gulped. "Yeah, I'll play."

"Great, you're gonna blow'em away, I know it."

"Thanks, I'll try."

"Good luck." Before turning away, the synthesist gave White Note a brief peck on the cheek before turning away. The stallion pressed his hoof against his cheek in wonder, as if he'd been slapped instead of kissed.

Starstruck trotted over to Falsetto, who was doing some vocal practices behind the rest of the band. "Hey there, cutie." She greeted, calling him her own nickname for the singer.

"Hm? Oh, hey Starstruck, you ready for the big show?"

"You know I am, baby. I bet you're gonna blow'em away."

"Thanks, Starstruck. I'll do my best."

"I'm sure you will, baby." She gently nuzzled his shoulder, much to the singer's embarrassment.

After the group of musicians were ready to perform, they all stepped onto the stage and occupied their respective instruments. Beneath them, a crowd of cheering ponies were jumping with excitement.

Falsetto stepped up to his mic. "Alright! How's everypony feelin' tonight?" He held out the mic to the audience, which responded with a resounding roar of enthusiasm. "Great! Before we start I just wanna say that it's an honor to be playing in front you all, and I hope you all have a great time! This first song that we've got for you is a new song that's gonna be on our EP, and it's called 'Elders'. And I'll tell ya', it's a real ass-kicker."

White Note began playing a thrashy riff on his guitar, oozing of aggression. Reverb started shredding through the same riff on his guitar, and the whole band exploded into a flurry of sonic brutality. Without a doubt, this was their heaviest song so far.

Grey Note was pounding on the double bass while Blueberry laid down a rhythmic bassline to accompany the chaos. Meanwhile, Arc Flash was using her Kaoss pad to unleash a torrent of bass wobbles while Starstruck was tapping her hoof and skillfully playing an energetic piece on her keyboard.

Meanwhile, while the band was playing and the rest of the crowd was moshing, the two scene kids from earlier were pushing their way through a crowd of pumped up ponies.

"Come on, Gretel, we're almost there!" The male one, Black Sweep shouted. The stallion was carrying something in his hoof.

"Just hold on, don't rush me!" The mare and stallion finally made their way to the front of the stage.

"Alright, I'll just drop this little baby into their pyrotechnics, and I can guarantee you they wont be playing here ever again." Black Sweep schemed, carefully tossing the container into one of the flame machines that was set to activate soon.

{You took me in your hooves, made me believe you loved me, but it was all a farce}

{I was just a tool in you're eyes, you're little pawn to betray...}

Falsetto growled his versus with a guttural anger that energized the crowd in ways difficult to describe with words. Just as he was ready to jump into the chorus...

*BOOM!*

The blast went off right in front of Reverb, producing a bright flash that had him stunned. "Aaahh, Shit! HELP, I'M BLIND! I'M FUCKING BLIND!" The stallion dropped off the stage and into the audience, who merely assumed that he was crowd surfing and carried him away. "Damnit! White Note, You're gonna have to play without me!"

"W-What? But I can't!" White Note yelled in response.

"You have to! For me! For the band! You can do it! I know I've said some things before, but it was only because I cared! You can do it, I know you can!" Reverb shouted, his voice getting fainter as he was carried away.

The lead guitarist gulped. "Here goes nothing." He closed his eyes and dove into the song's frenetic solo. His hooves quickly but delicately plucked the instruments strings to create the sound of pure speed and brutality.

The stallion opened his eyes in amazement, the crowd was screaming for him! They were jumping at the stage and moshing in excitement. That's when White Note realized something. They were cheering for him, for the band. Together, they were capable of causing an entire audience of normally peaceful ponies to completely lose their minds and turn into something Discord himself would grin at.

"I... I might be able to get used to this..."

Next Chapter: The band comes under fire after being sued by the recently formed Pony Music Rating Council, or the PMRC. Meanwhile, Grey Note and Blueberry try to help Reverb earn the affection of a certain rainbow-maned mare.

Author's Note: Well, I hope this was worth the wait. There might be some error's with grammar and whatnot but I'll proofread it later. I dont have much to say, except I hope you enjoyed this chapter and be sure to leave a review, especially if your OC is in this story.


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